CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATIONPREET VIHAR, DELHI - 110092

LITERATURE READERA Textbook for English Course

(Communicative)

Class-IX

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REVISED EDITION 2009

© CBSE, India

Price :

The Secretary, Central Board of Secondary Education, Shiksha Kendra, 2, Community Centre, Preet Vihar, Delhi - 110092

Multi Graphics, 5745/81, Reghar Pura, Karol Bagh, New Delhi - 110092.

PUBLISHED BY :

DESIGN & LAYOUT :

PRINTED BY :

"This book or part thereof may not be reproduced byany person or agency in any manner."

The English Communicative Curriculum was implemented in Class-IX in the academic session 1993-94. The books were revised in 1995, 1997 and 2003 as a result of the feedback received from students, teachers and ELT professionals.

After more than 15 years in use, it was felt that the course needs a revision to make it more relevant and attuned to the needs of today's students.

The Board received feedback from teachers teaching in various school systems i.e. independent schools, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Navodaya Vidyalaya Sangathan in large numbers which suggested that a change was already overdue.

This revision, unlike the other revisions, has been more comprehensive and in case of the three books for students i.e. the Literature Reader, Main Course Book and the Work Book, many chapters have been changed.

In the Literature Book, the four stories in the Fiction Section have been changed and five new stories have been added. Two poems have been changed and one play has been replaced.

The extracts selected have been taken with the purpose of making students think on their own and inculcating in them the life skills necessary for facing the challenges of the present as well as the future.

It has been ensured that pieces of literary merit and interest are included in the selection. The overall approach and design has been retained. However the number of exercises has been increased. Exercises have been modified to cater to the new revised Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation scheme that has been introduced by the CBSE this year.

In the Main Course Book most of the units have been revised. Though the units remain the same, topics have been changed. Topics with resonance in contemporary society like the story about the first female pilot, conservation of species in the wild etc have been added in the Main Course Book.

The Workbook too has been revised comprehensively and now includes more exercises. Multiple Choice Questions have been added wherever necessary.

The Board would like to acknowledge with thanks the guidance provided by Professor Kapil Kapoor, Convenor of the English Subject Committee for the revision work. I'd like to thank the members of the revision team who have consistently helped in revising and producing the material for this book. I'd also like to express my appreciation for the guidance and support provided by Dr. Sadhana Parashar, Education Officer and Ms Menaxi Jain, Assistant Education Officer for coordinating the revision work.

Vineet Joshi (IAS)

Chairman & Secretary

CBSE

Foreword - 2009Foreword - 2009

We express our gratitude to the writers and publishers whose contributions have been

included in this book. Copyright permission for use of this material has been applied for,

however information on copyright permission for some of the material could not be found.

We would be grateful for information for the same.

"How I Taught My Grandmother To Read", by Sudha Murty

"A Dog Named Duke", by William D Ellis

"The Man Who Knew Too Much", by Alexander Baron.

"Keeping It From Harold", by P.G. Wodehouse from 'The Funny Bone'

New Humorous Stories compiled by Lady Cynthia Asquith, Jurdus Publishers, London

"Best Seller", by O. Henry

"The Brook", by Alfred Lord Tennyson

"The Road Not Taken", by Robert Frost

"The Solitary Reaper", by William Wordsworth.

"Lord Ullin's Daughter", by Thomas Campbell

"Oh, I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth", by Pam Ayres from Poetry Magic Book 6,

Edited by Keki N Daruwalla, Ratna Sagar, 2005

"Song of the Rain", by Kahlil Gibran

"Villa for Sale", by Sacha Guitry from Six One Act Plays, Edited by Maurice

Stanford, Orient Longman, 1997

"The Bishop's Candlesticks", by Norman Mckinnell

FICTION

Poetry

Drama

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

Material Production Group-2009Material Production Group-2009

ADVISORY BODY

Vineet Joshi(IAS) Chairman & Secretary, CBSE

Prof. Kapil KapoorConvenor, Committee of Courses, CBSE

Prof. Usha DuttaDepartment of Languages, NCERT

Ms. C. GurumurthyDirector, Academics, CBSE

Dr. Sadhana Parashar Education Officer, CBSE

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

Ms. Alka RaiELT Consultant.

Ms. Anudita Bhatia Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi.

Mr. Arvind VikramNew State Academy, New Delhi

Mr. D.N. TiwariLaxman Public School, New Delhi.

Ms. Manvinder KaurDelhi Public School, Ghaziabad.

Ms. S.MaryKV CRPF Avadi.

Ms. Mohini KapoorDelhi Public School, Ghaziabad.

Ms. Mridula AggarwalSpringdales Public School, Pusa Road, New Delhi.

Ms. Neena KaulSt. Mary's School, New Delhi.

Ms. Neeru Bali, Delhi Public School, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad

Ms. P. Rajeshwary MES Sr. School, Doha, Qatar

Mr. Richard CourtKasiga School, Dehradun.

Ms. Sarita ManujaDirector & Principal, Ryat Bahara Group of Schools, Chandigarh.

Ms. Seema SharmaDAV, Gurgaon.

Ms. S.SukumarKV No.2, Roorkee.

Ms. Swati DasDPS Maruti Kunj, New Delhi.

Ms. Vandana MishraKV No.3, Colaba, Mumbai.

Ms. R. VenkateshwariAir Force Golden Jubilee Institute, Subroto Park, New Delhi

Ms. Vijay Lakshmi RamanPadma Seshadri Bala Bhawan, Chennai.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Ms. Neelima Sharma Education Officer, Directorate of Education, Delhi

Ms. Neerada SureshPrincipal, K.V. Bhandup, Mumbai

Ms. Renu Anand, ELT Consultant.

Ms. Gayatri Khanna, ELT Consultant.

Ms. Menaxi Jain Asst. Education Officer, CBSE

CONTRIBUTORS

Material Production Group

Amber Banerjee, Anuradha Kalia, Beena Gokhale, James A. Bright, Kiran Bhatt, Lalitha C., Laxmi Srinivasan,

Louisa Devadas, M. Vasudev, Neelam Nalini Kataria, P. Mani, Preet Kanwal, Ponmudi V., P. Rajeshwari, Shashi

Kochar, Veena Bhasin, Vijaya Lakshimi Raman.

Testing and Evaluation Group

Annie Koshi, Anuradha Kalia, Emu Foning, Indu Chopra, Kiran Kahsyap, Kusum Sharma, Manobi Bose Tagore,

Nalini Ravindran, Patricia N. Franklin, P. Mani, Pushpa Chawla, Reinu Nagarkar, S.K. Gangal, Urmila Guliani

Inservice Teacher Training Group

Amber Banerjee, Anjali Dere, B.S.Dashora, Chetna Bhatt, D.Silva Jennifer, Emu Foning, G.Madhav Rao, Indira

Srinivasan , Indramohini, Kangmani Jayraj, Meenu Bajaj, Meera Balachandran, M.Kantha, Nalini K., Neelima

Sharma, Nirmala Jairaj, Nomita Wilson, Parvathi Krishnan, P. Seshubabu, P.U. Chackkapan, Sarita Manuja,

Sheila Subramanian, Susmita Pani, T.R. Doholiya, Vijaya Subramanian

Revision Team

Ms. Neelima Sharma, Ms. Urmila Guliani, Ms. Neelam N. Katara, Ms. Veena Bhasin, Ms. Neena Kaul, Ms.

Renu Anand.

Ms. Vimmy Singh, Ms. Wilma B. Kumar, Ms. Mridula Manchanda, Ms. Annie Koshi,

Under the guidance of Prof. Kapil Kapoor, JNU, New Delhi

CBSE Advisors :

Mr. G. Balasubramanian, Director (Academic), Mr. P. Mani, Education Officer (Humanities & Languages)

ADVISORY BODY

1. Prof. B.P. Khandelwal, Chairman

2. Mr. H.R. Sharma, Director (Acad.)

3. Dr. R.K. Agnihotri, Convenor

4. Prof. R. Dixit, NCERT

5. Dr. G.R. Kanwal

6. Mrs. Neelima Sharma

7. Mrs. Neelam N. Katara

MONITORING COMMITTEE

1. Prof. B.P. Khandelwal, Chairman

2. Mr. H.R. Sharma, Director (Acad.)

3. Dr. R.K. Agnihotri, Delhi Univ.

4. Prof. R. Dixit, NCERT

5. Dr. Rajni Badlani, English Studies Offerer, BCD

CONSULTANT

The college of St. Mark and St. John Foundation,

Derriford Road, Plymouth. U.K.

Rod Bolitho, Dy. Director

Ray Williams, Coordinator

Sarah North

(Late) Stuart Mathews

Richard Walker

Sandy Urquhart

Kalty Smith

Mike Scholey

CONSULTANT

Mr. S.K. Gangal, Education Officer, CBSE

Dr. Rajni Badlani, E.S.O., BCD

Ms. Sadhana Parashar,

Assistant Education Officer, CBSE

First Edition - 1994First Edition - 1994

THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIAPREAMBLE

1WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens :

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all

2FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the [unity and integrity of the Nation];

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY

ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

Chapter IV A

Fundamental Duties

ARTICLE 51A

Fundamental Duties - It shall be the duty of every citizen of India-

(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;

(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;

(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;

(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;

(e) To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;

(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;

(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wild life and to have compassion for living creatures;

(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;

(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;

(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.

1. Subs, by the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act. 1976, sec. 2, for "Sovereign Democratic Republic (w.e.f. 3.1.1977)

2. Subs, by the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act. 1976, sec. 2, for "unity of the Nation (w.e.f. 3.1.1977)

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Con

ten

ts

ContentsContents

IntroductionFiction

Poetry

Drama

ANNEXURE

1-51

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, by Sudha Murty 3

A Dog Named Duke, by William D. Ellis 13

The Man Who Knew Too Much, by Alexander Baron 22

Keeping It from Harold, by P.G. Wodehouse 28

Best Seller, by O.Henry 43

54-92

The Brook, by Alfred Lord Tennyson 57

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost 64

The Solitary Reaper, by William Wordsworth 69

Lord Ullin's Daughter, by Thomas Campbell 74

The Seven Ages, by William Shakespeare 80

Oh, I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth, by Pam Ayres 84

Song of The Rain, by Kahlil Gibran 88

93-134

Villa for Sale, by Sacha Guitry 95

The Bishop's Candlesticks, by Norman Mckinnell 112

135-146

Text for Listening Tasks 137

F.1

F.2

F.3

F.4

F.5

P. 1

P. 2

P. 3

P. 4

P. 5

P. 6

P. 7

D. 1

D. 2

Why do you think we read Literature?

Have you ever wondered why we read Literature? We do so in order to understand, appreciate and enjoy what immensely talented men and women over the centuries have put in writing for our benefit - emotions, moving experiences, suspense, creative use of language, great issues etc. As we read, we make a personal response to the piece of Literature concerned - relating its substance to our own personal experience, or to laugh, to cry, or simply to enjoy. With this in mind, the selections of poetry, fiction and drama in this Literature Reader by a variety of authors writing in English, are on a variety of themes and in a variety of literary styles. Through this Reader, we hope that you will develop your interest in such pieces, and will develop your skills in reading and appreciating poetry, fiction and drama. In particular, you will learn the essential features of these different types of Literature - for example, you will learn to study character, how a plot develops, and "what makes poetry poetry".

Like the Main Coursebook, this Literature Reader also carries pieces which have been identified and selected with a bearing on social issues and universal values. In other words, the literary pieces remind us all of the importance of values such as telling the truth, good health, respect for older people, and the role of law and order.

It is our hope that your reading of Literature will not be restricted to the Literature Reader alone, but that you will be stimulated to read poetry, fiction and drama outside the classroom, and also later in adult life.

What does this Literature Reader contain?

poetry - seven poems

fiction - five short stories

drama - two plays

These are merely a sample, the basic purpose of the Reader is to facilitate young readers to develop a love for reading and literature which is sustained for life long learning.

How much time should be spent on this Literature Reader?

Since Literature forms 25% of the Class IX assessment, it will take about 25% of your English classes and related homework. In particular, at times your teacher may ask you to read some of the longer pieces for home work, a day or so before they are introduced in class.

What types of questions and activities are there in the Literature Reader and in the examination?

The question-types and activities for each piece in the Literature Reader are largely

*

*

*

Dear StudentsDear Students

1. fairly simple comprehension questions and other activities, to activate and develop your understanding.

2. activities that lead you to infer, analyse and evaluate what you are reading.

3. activities that ask you to make a personal and/or a creative response to what you have just been reading.

In fact, these are the types of questions and activities you will meet in the examination. The Literature Reader thus helps to develop your enjoyment and appreciation of Literature in English.

What is the teacher's role?

We have said earlier that this Reader is to help you "to understand, appreciate and enjoy" Literature. But your teacher alone cannot make you understand, appreciate and enjoy: you have to develop these skills yourself, by the way you approach the pieces selected. Your teacher will certainly encourage, stimulate and support you, and will manage class activities to assist in every way possible. But your understanding, appreciation and enjoyment will not grow if your teacher simply explains to you everything about the literary piece concerned. You must personally explore and interpret the piece, express a point of view, and justify it. Your teacher will frequently set up activities, monitor them and hold a class review. This does not mean that he or she will never give explanations: they will be given whenever there is a need to do so.

But you should be prepared to take as much personal responsibility as you can for your own learning.

This will be more effective and more enjoyable for you!

What do we mean by "personal response"?

Personal response means how we, as individuals, interpret and react to something in a piece of Literature. This is particularly true of poetry, where the poet's choice of language and treatment of theme can give rise to a variety of shades of interpretation -depending on who we are, our previous experiences, what we feel about the subject-matter etc. With this in mind, do not look for a fixed "right or wrong" response to certain questions and activities. Remember that it is your personal response to the poem, short story or play that makes reading Literature so enjoyable.

If you turn to your workbook, and look at Question 16 in the Literature Section of the two sample papers, you will understand more clearly what is meant by "personal response".

The CD

All the poems have been recorded. As you listen you will gain a greater understanding and appreciation of a poem - particularly features such as rhythm, rhyme and mood. It is therefore hoped that the effect will be more striking and longer-lasting.

The Fiction Pieces

The five short stories are by Indian and non-Indian writers and have been chosen for their interest-level and for the values and social issues that they portray.

The Importance of Dramatising the Plays

Plays, of course, are intended to be dramatised, not simply read. Therefore, the final activity for each is a dramatisation. If you can memorise your lines, so much the better; if not, then a dramatised reading will do. Often the audience will be the rest of the class. There are three principal features in drama

* How you speak your part

In drama, voice is very important. For example, emotions are expressed by raising or lowering the voice, by speaking with more force or less force, by varying the pace at which you speak. To use your voice appropriately, you will need to "know" your character thoroughly, through careful study of the character's line and study of stage directions.

* How you move

Drama is mobile - involving physical movement, gestures, facial expressions, etc. All these should be done in as natural a manner as possible. Stage directions will give you appropriate advice.

* Costumes, Props, Lights and Music

These are also important features of a dramatisation. Even simple clothes and props can make a significant contribution in making the play “come alive" for the audience.

We very much hope that you enjoy this Literature Reader.

Editors